Chow Tai Fook, Swarovski Back Sourcing Program

RAPAPORT... Chow Tai Fook and Swarovski have led a consortium ofinvestors in a digital jewelry program that claims to reduce sourcing time byup to 80%. Atelier Technology - which launched in January - aimsto connect the supply chain and eliminate unnecessary administration, therebybringing more products to market at a faster rate, it said Tuesday. Five jewelershave made an undisclosed investment in the company, with three of themremaining anonymous. The technology centralizes a company's suppliers, enabling them to manage relationships with a larger number of entities throughout the supply chain without needing to use multiple computer applications such as e-mail and Excel, it added. "The entire industry will agree that today we need to bring manymore styles to market than yesterday, just to reach the same turnover," said Atelierfounder and CEO Dominic Hill. "Everybody is doing more work and earning lessprofit. We built Atelier as a solution to this problem." Image: Atelier Technology founder Dominic Hill (center) with representatives from Chow Tai Fook and Swarovski. (Atelier Technology)